Money for greenhouse vegetable production research

Friday, October 11, 2013

by SUSAN MANN

Greenhouse vegetable researchers are studying production improvements as part of projects receiving $2.7 million in federal government funding.

The funding was announced by Parliamentary Secretary Pierre Lemieux on behalf of federal Agriculture Minister Gerry Ritz in Niagara Falls Wednesday. Lemieux made the announcement at the Canadian Greenhouse conference.

Leanne Wilson, science coordinator with the Ontario Greenhouse Vegetable Growers, says they applied for the funding in February. The money will support work in five areas, including:

• developing bio-control products (the good insects introduced in greenhouses to control harmful insects) for year-round greenhouse production;
• evaluating current crop varieties to determine if they’re resistant to viruses;
• improving year-round production efficiency;
• developing new greenhouse cover materials; and
• creating tastier tomatoes on the vine as determined by consumer preference.

Agriculture and Agri-Food Canada, Vineland Research and Innovation Centre and Western University researchers are also working on the projects, along with greenhouse growers and private companies wanting to test various products.  

The projects are slated to be done over five years with some being completed earlier. “Every year or so whenever there’s anything that’s new” results will be given to growers and at the end of the five years all of the results will be available and provided to farmers, Wilson says.

The federal government’s money comes from the AgriInnovation program, a five-year, $698 million program that’s part of Growing Forward 2, the national agricultural policy framework. BF